A.P.J. Kalam, former president known as father of India's military missile program, dies at 83

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Source: Associated Press

SHILLONG, India – Former Indian President A.P.J. Kalam has died at a hospital after collapsing while delivering a lecture in northeastern India.

The president from 2002 until 2007 was known as the father of the country's military missile program.

B. Warjri, chief secretary of Meghalaya state, said Kalam died Monday evening at a hospital. He was 83.

Kalam fell sick Monday while addressing the students of the Indian Institute of Management in the Meghalaya city of Shillong.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/27/apj-kalam-former-president-known-as-father-india-military-missile-program-dies/

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1. Abdul Kalam, India President Who Led Missile Program, Dies at 83

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-27/abdul-kalam-india-president-who-led-missile-program-dies-at-83

Abdul Kalam, India President Who Led Missile Program, Dies at 83
by Bianca Vazquez Toness

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, an architect of India’s missile program and the country’s 11th president, has died. He was 83.

He collapsed Monday during a lecture in Shillong, the capital of India’s far eastern Meghalaya state, the Press Trust of India reported, without saying where it got the information.

“India mourns the loss of a great scientist, a wonderful president and above all an inspiring individual,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a posting on Twitter.

Kalam, the son of a ferry-boat owner, played a lead role in the 1998 nuclear tests that prompted international sanctions against India and, as a government aerospace engineer, helped develop the country’s missile technology.

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2. India sheds a tear for 'people's president' APJ Abdul Kalam

http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/india-sheds-a-tear-for-peoples-president-apj-abdul-kalam_1637306.html

India sheds a tear for 'people's president' APJ Abdul Kalam
Last Updated: Monday, July 27, 2015 - 22:16
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The office of the President of India had assumed a new meaning in the hearts of billions of Indians from year 2002 to 2007 – the Kalam years at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Kalam was the people's president. His endearing nature and undying commitment to see India progress and prosper had turned him into one of the most popular personalities of our times.

One of his biggest passion was to interact with students to instil in them a fire to succeed in life.

His personal life story starting from a poverty-ridden childhood, to a struggle to get education, and his contribution to India's missile technology was and will always remain a source of inspiration for the country.

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3. These 5 inside stories will tell you why we love Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

https://in.news.yahoo.com/these-5-inside-stories-will-tell-you-why-we-love-dr--apj-abdul-kalam-165331344.html

These 5 inside stories will tell you why we love Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Yahoo India – 30 minutes ago

There is no doubt about the contribution Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has made to the Indian scientific community in the defence and space programs. Till then he was the 'India's Missile Man'. But when he became President of India in 2002, he earned himself another nickname, a nickname that has stuck to this day, even as we mourn his death; the 'People's President'. Truly, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, in the five years of his term as Honourable President of India, and even after that, has been a man of impeccable integrity, courage and boldness on one side, and kind, generous and humble on the other. How can you not love him?

But these five stories that we can collated will give you even more reason to love him.

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4. Brilliant man .. I met him in Banglore some 12 years ago

Really a person that everyone could look up to in India and a great representative/role model for Muslim citizens of India showing them that modern education and being in the 21st century makes it possible for them to be accomplished and even become a President of India.

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6. He was also an advocate of space-based solar power

2010: National Space Society Announces the Kalam-NSS Energy Initiative
http://blog.nss.org/?p=2214

2012: China proposes space collaboration with India
http://www.democraticunderground.com/122812288

2013: National Space Society Will Pitch Space-based Solar Power To G8 Nations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014511927

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5. TSA frisked him twice at JFK for which US sort of apologized

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Former-President-APJ-Abdul-Kalam-frisked-twice-in-US/articleshow/10714158.cms